One Night of Weakness
by Morphimal
Summary: ...a lifetime of regret. An AU story about the repercussions of a night spent on an island with a beautiful woman. Miragecentric. The prologue is set during the movie. The rest is not.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Incredibles. They belong to Disney/Pixar.

A/N: This is AU! Please remember that! Thank you.

Robert Parr, a.k.a. Mr. Incredible, had awoken to the early morning sun shining through the bedroom window. He had lain there, smiling in the afterglow of a night of passionate sex, until the realization struck that his bedroom window didn't face the morning sun. Just that quickly, his world came crashing down. He wasn't in his own bedroom- he was in a guest room on the island of Nomanisan. And the woman dozing in his arms, her naked body fleshed out against his, was not his wife. The memories of the day before came in flashes: the dinner with Mirage, the wine, the brief tour of the facilities, more wine, Mirage escorting him to his room and staying for another round of wine.

The next thing Bob knew, he was kneeling in front of the toilet in the conjoining bathroom, relieving his stomach of its contents. He felt physically ill, but not from the alcohol. No, this illness came from knowing he had cheated on his precious Helen- his loving, trusting wife, whom he had already betrayed by lying about this trip. He felt a hand graze his shoulder and whipped around, making Mirage jump back. It took a second for him to register the smirk on her face and that she was wearing his shirt from the previous evening.

"Was the island wine a little too strong for Mr. Incredible?" she asked teasingly.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean-" Bob cut himself off short, shaking his head to clear it and slipping past her into the bedroom. He started tugging on his clothes, stumbling over his words as he pulled up his pants. "I can't… We shouldn't have…" he said as he searched the room for anything he had missed. "I mean, this… This just-"

"Didn't happen?" Mirage suggested, and Bob turned around to find her holding out his shirt for him, leaving herself completely nude. Bob blushed profusely and snatched his shirt out of her hand before turning back around. He heard her chuckle softly. "You needn't be so scared," she said to his back. "There's no way she can find out unless you tell her. I've never talked to a lover's wife before, I certainly don't plan to now."

"I slept with another woman," Bob said, suddenly finding his voice again. "I cheated on the woman I love." He thought he heard a sad sigh, but when Mirage walked into his view -fully clothed, he noted- she had that same exotic smile as always.

"No, you didn't." Bob gave her a confused look, and she continued, "No one knows we shared a bed, not even my employer. If you wish it so, then this never happened." Bob could only stare at her for a second then nodded slowly.

"Right," he said, nodding firmly one last time. "This didn't happen." For the briefest of moments, Bob swore he saw Mirage's smile drop into a resigned frown, but just that quickly she was smiling again.

"We have a purely business relationship, and you have a plane to catch back to the mainland and your family," Mirage said and moved to open the door. "I'll leave you to get ready, and your ride will be waiting when you reach the hangar. I, on the other hand, have a job to return to. Have a good day, Mr. Incredible." With that, Mirage walked out and closed the door behind her. Inside the room, Bob dropped down on the edge of the bed and raked his hands over his face, attempting desperately to fight back the emotional breakdown he felt overwhelming him. On the outside, Mirage leaned back against the door and wondered why, after so many times she'd said the exact same thing to worried lovers, this man's rejection had hurt so much.

Two months later, as Mirage watched that same man and his family battle the rogue Omnidroid, she finally realized where the pain came from. It had been easy to fall for Mr. Incredible- 'Oh, give it up,' a voice inside her head groaned. 'You know his real name, he knows you know his real name, call him by his real name!' In truth, Mirage admitted to herself, it had been Robert Parr she'd fallen in love with, not Mr. Incredible. Mr. Incredible had caught her attention, attracted her in a way no man had for a long time, but it was Robert Parr's heart she had seen burning in those intense blue eyes. Admitting this caused her to wonder when she had fallen out of love with Buddy Pine. 'You know when,' piped up that little voice again. 'When he stopped being Buddy Pine, and Syndrome completely took over.' She briefly entertained the idea that it had happened when Syndrome so carelessly risked her life at the hands of a man with nothing to lose, but she knew better. It had happened in that instant when they learned that Robert's children were aboard the plane; when the knowledge that he was about to destroy this man's everything made Syndrome smile. Not Buddy Pine, no- the man who had first convinced her to join his crusade against the supers was long gone by then. All that was left was a hollow shell filled with madness and the burning desire to see his victims writhe.

With Buddy gone, her heart was completely free to let in the man who had made her feel more alive in one night than any lover she'd ever had. And at that moment when he held her close, so thankful for the news of his family's escape, she knew she had fallen hard for the one man she could never have. Even if she could have somehow seduced him away from his family, she never would. It was that love of and for his family that made Robert who he was. So when government agents showed up on Nomamisan Island, Mirage handed over nearly everything that was left of Syndrome's genius. The only thing she didn't give the agents immediately were the only existing records of Syndrome's illegal arms deals. This information she offered in exchange for a lighter sentence. In the end, the leverage had proved pointless. After the mandatory physical, Mirage was informed that she was pregnant. She complied with anything the government said from then on.

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Tbc... Please review!


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